Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

ernestas.me

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

361–370 of 492 posts

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#361

Post by sudosysgen »

csdvrx wrote: post #344
frant-hartm wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, AMD would be the way to go (I switched to AMD on my desktop when Ryzen came out) only if there were reasonable laptops available. AFAIK there are no AMD laptops with 128 GB RAM. Quickly looking at Lenovo site, I couldn't even find one with 64, only 48.

Besides the lack of OLED display, the limited RAM on AMD laptops is another showstopper then. I want a minimum of 64GB ECC, which I can get on a Thinkpad with an Intel Xeon CPU.

The Alienware M15 r5 Ryzen édition (amongst others) does support 64GB of RAM, but not ECC.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#362

Post by LeifCarrotson »

faeriechangling wrote: post #52
plafl wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a usually cited concern for so many people and I'm curious to know why because I rarely unplug my laptop, like most people I know.

When I owned a Mac laptop a decade ago, I always had my laptop positioned near a power outlet. When I got laptops with more battery life, the charger is now used to charge the laptop overnight so I can use it throughout the next day. If you never use your battery, why own a laptop at all? Why not buy a Mac mini or an iMac?

I have a laptop not because I want to use my computer on my lap or while unplugged, but because I want to be able to carry my computer between different workplaces.

As an industrial controls engineer, I'm constantly bouncing from my desk to my rolling cart in the shop, to putting it in my toolbag and driving to a local customer's site, to putting it in my carryon and flying to a remote customer's site, to my home office. At each location, I have power available. At some locations, I have external monitors and a keyboard/mouse, so I could easily plug in a Mac Mini or luggable mATX desktop, at others the laptop is often perched on some convenient stack of pallets and peripherals like monitor stands would be highly inconvenient. A 10x15x1.5" slab with a power brick (and a spare power brick can be left at frequently used locations) is just a really nice form factor to carry around, it's superior to separate parts like even a small Mac Mini, SFF, or mATX desktop, an external monitor that probably needs a box of some sort to keep it from being damaged, and a keyboard and mouse.

I use too much Windows-only proprietary software to make the iMac sensible, but I like the idea of the power and legibility of a large display, desktop-grade CPUs, and the larger thermal envelope available by ditching the battery and requiring wall power. Does anyone make an all-in-one or a carrying case for all-in-ones (with probably a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse) that would make jumping between different work locations make sense?

I'm aware that's sort of what a gaming laptop is, and it's pretty similar to the Lenovo Thinkpad, Dell Precision, and HP Elitebooks that I've used in the past...Especially after a couple years of 24/7 charger connections while baking the battery with a Quadro GPU running Solidworks, you barely have enough battery capacity to carry the laptop from one desk to another. Unfortunately, all those workstation laptops make concessions to try to pretend they're a Macbook Air where you can do...something? apparently some people do some kind of work with the laptop running on a battery and balanced on their knees. It's just a foreign concept to me. I'd rather they were 2" thick with a 120V socket, no battery, and 400W of CPU+GPU.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#363

Post by gabereiser »

uxcolumbo wrote: post #179
gabereiser wrote: post #45

I find it rather peculiar that tech folks think a plastic laptop is good build quality considering what we have from Apple and others. I wish more linux laptops had the build quality and support of macbooks. This isn't a rant from an Apple fan, this is a rant from a laptop fan. ThinkPad's aren't good laptops despite what the guy with the pocket protector says. They are flimsy and feel cheap. They still have 20th cent…

I've been a Thinkpad user for the last 15 years. The body is extremely sturdy along with the hinges. It's not plastic - it's magnesium alloy. They are not flimsy or cheap. Have you ever used a trackpoint? It's extremely ergonomic and much better than a trackpad. It requires a bit of time to get used to it - but it's totally worth the time investment. And please don't make comments like 'Grandfather's laptop'. Just be…

I’ve used a thinkpad. My opinion still stands. Probably one of the worst laptops for ergonomics I’ve ever used.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#364

Post by awill »

It's weird to me that now, when Apple is firing on all cylinders with their best ever hardware (both the M1, and the new MBP with improved keyboard, ports and removal of the touchbar), someone would switch away from Apple.

I've used Linux for 20 years on desktops, but laptops, where hardware/software integration is crucial, I've never found something trouble free. Wireless and video drivers tend to be good only if you use intel. That limits you on a GPU choice. Probably an AMD APU would work well, but the dual intel iGPU+nvidia is terrible on Linux

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#365

Post by gabereiser »

hackyhacky wrote: post #241
uxcolumbo wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been a Thinkpad user for the last 15 years. The body is extremely sturdy along with the hinges. It's not plastic - it's magnesium alloy. They are not flimsy or cheap. Have you ever used a trackpoint? It's extremely ergonomic and much better than a trackpad. It requires a bit of time to get used to it - but it's totally worth the time investment. And please don't make comments like 'Grandfather's laptop'. Just be…

TrackPoints are a fantastic feature and are one of the most important criteria keeping me on ThinkPads. The casual dismissal of TrackPoints in the grandparent comment shows that the author has never tried one.

I’ve used them quite a bit. They were standard issue at a certain place named after a hat. It is NOT a fantastic feature to have your mouse move when you type which I found happened constantly when using a ThinkPad. 1) the eraser mouse “track point” was novel in 1994, not anymore. It’s in the way.

Likewise with the physical mouse buttons on the trackpad. It’s 2022. We have touch screens with gestures and stuff. Why do I still have to use a physical button? Tap to click you say? Turning that on means being even in near-field proximity to the trackpad means it’s a click, whether you wanted it to or not.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#366

Post by philg_jr »

nix0n wrote: post #320
boatsie wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The skeptic in me thinks that long lived, upgradable, serviceable, resellable laptops would never have survived long anyways. It’s far more profitable to sell new machines to people and businesses after 3 years. Those long lived tank laptops were actually just too good.

IBM was selling service contracts too, which increased their incentive to make the machines last. Some businesses (and governments) would still be willing to shell out the money for that kind of quality.

Lenovo still offers up to 5 years, next business-day onsite service for the Thinkpad line that is somewhat reasable. Unfortunately, the battery warranty is an additional line item. Usually the 3 year NBD onsite option with battery is about $250 for a T14 or X13.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#367

Post by gabereiser »

PetitPrince wrote: post #248
avl999 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thinkpads work. They don't make user hostile choices like zero-upgradability and zero-repairablity, the touchbar, replacing the esc key with the touch bar 'key' (only to roll it back) like the the macbooks. They also don't make confusing usability decisions like the giant ass trackpad that routinely registers false positives as you type. I recently got an old refurbished Thinkpad T430 for casual use when I am not nea…

> They don't make user hostile choice like [...] the touch bar This is false. This monstrosity first appeared on the X1 Carbon 2nd gen (along with the loss of our beloved dedicated trackpoint buttons), and the backlash was so big that they reinstated all the buttons for the next generation.

Correct. I would lump ‘erratic trackpad clicking’ to its list of hostile user behaviors. The hardware inside the laptop on the board is nice. It’s the peripherals and body that make me feel like I’m working for IBM in 1996. Small changes in the design won’t make up for an outdated design.

Also, outside of SDD or RAM, what else are you upgrading? Does it even need to have that capability considering how often you do? Would you rather have better parts that won’t fail so easily in a slimmer, sleeker, design than one that sacrifices weight and size to allow you to maybe have the choice?

I like right to repair. I like being able to upgrade something. The frequency of which I upgrade my ram and sdd is about as frequently as I’ll need a new motherboard anyway as my board is outdated 4x cycles.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#368

Post by sangnoir »

awill wrote: post #364

It's weird to me that now, when Apple is firing on all cylinders with their best ever hardware (both the M1, and the new MBP with improved keyboard, ports and removal of the touchbar), someone would switch away from Apple. I've used Linux for 20 years on desktops, but laptops, where hardware/software integration is crucial, I've never found something trouble free. Wireless and video drivers tend to be good only if yo…

> It's weird to me that now, when Apple is firing on all cylinders with their best ever hardware

Are they firing on all cylinders on the software side too? Great hardware combined with software that makes ones life unnecessarily difficult would cause one to bail to something that's better suited to them overall.

I've been keeping a wary eye on how Apple controls root access, and I'm on the fence regardless of how great the M2 is, though the Asahi folk could earn Apple a few purchases

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#369

Post by gabereiser »

everdrive wrote: post #147
gabereiser wrote: post #45

I find it rather peculiar that tech folks think a plastic laptop is good build quality considering what we have from Apple and others. I wish more linux laptops had the build quality and support of macbooks. This isn't a rant from an Apple fan, this is a rant from a laptop fan. ThinkPad's aren't good laptops despite what the guy with the pocket protector says. They are flimsy and feel cheap. They still have 20th cent…

Plastic is often a better material for laptops: - It's light - It's a bit more durable (or perhaps forgiving) when it comes to drops and dents - It's less expensive - If the laptop is built properly (not always a guarantee) it's just a sturdy

Your first argument maybe is true but in the overall comparisons these laptops are heavier.

Forgiving for drops and dents? Yeah, I’ll give you that. Carbon fiber is durable, not scratch proof though.

Less expensive, yes, and you get those discounts bleeding into the components they use and the specs. Spec a high end Dev machine and compare with MacBook offering and it’s not even close. System76 is getting there, but they still use plastics too.

Build quality, I completely agree with this. The problem is production quality isn’t guaranteed and I had more issues with PC laptops (Dell, HP, Lenovo) than I have with my MacBooks (2008, 2012, 2014, 2020 M1).

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#370

Post by AshamedCaptain »

awill wrote: post #364

It's weird to me that now, when Apple is firing on all cylinders with their best ever hardware (both the M1, and the new MBP with improved keyboard, ports and removal of the touchbar), someone would switch away from Apple. I've used Linux for 20 years on desktops, but laptops, where hardware/software integration is crucial, I've never found something trouble free. Wireless and video drivers tend to be good only if yo…

> I've never found something trouble free

If you are specifically choosing something that works trouble free with Linux (i.e. popular with the kernel and distro developers), then this needn't apply. And practically speaking there could be nothing more popular than workstation ThinkPads.

Post reply on HN